Civil litigation in San Diego County can consist of auto accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, property disputes, partnership disputes, lawsuits by creditors, suing debtors for damages, personal injury cases, contract disputes, contract litigation, business torts, wrongful death, product liability, slip and fall, fraud and many other causes of action. Litigation attorneys and lawyers can file civil lawsuits on your behalf and give legal advice which can protect your rights. An experienced attorney can explain these complicated procedures.

Civil litigation can consist of reviewing pleadings, preparing pleadings, initiating discovery, filing a lawsuit, responding to the filing of a lawsuit, taking depositions, preparing and serving subpoenas, preparing and responding to written interrogatories, preparing and responding to requests for production of documents and admissions and also assistance with obtaining expert witnesses as needed on a case by case basis. In addition, we suggest and discuss pre lawsuit considerations, parties to the action, jurisdiction, venue, defaults, summons, law and motion, sanctions, summary judgment, dismissals, judicial arbitration and mediation, and many other issues which arise in civil litigation.

Pre lawsuit considerations can consist of discussing the law with the client, discussing whether there are deadlines and statute of limitations issues, alternative dispute resolution, insurance coverage as applicable, any potential conflicts, discussing the merits of the case, legal fees, possible expert witnesses, cross complaints, advantages and disadvantages of litigation, theories of the case, claims against government entities, procedural requirements, setting aside default judgments, burden of proof, claims against a decedent’s estate, administrative remedies, filing fees, electronic filing and others.

Parties to the action can consist of an analysis of whether there is standing to sue, who is the real party in interest, capacity to sue or defend, joinder of parties, interpleader, substitution of parties and other considerations.

Jurisdiction and venue can consist of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, corporate defendant’s, forum non conveniens, place to file the law suit, federal versus state courts and others.

Summons is a very important part of any civil lawsuit. There are many requirements in the issuance of a summons, content of the summons, service of the summons, manner of service of the summons, service on defendant’s inside of California and outside of California, proof of service of summons and procedures for challenging service of summons among others.

In some cases, a default judgment has already been obtained. In these cases, it is important to look at the entry of default, default judgment by the Clerk of the Court, default judgment by the Court itself, limitations on default judgments, setting aside default judgments, challenging default judgments on appeal, relief from default and other considerations.

The pleadings themselves are integral to the civil lawsuit. These can include complaints, issues regarding verification of the pleadings, answers, demurrer, motion to strike, motion for judgment on the pleadings, motion to dismiss, cross complaints, amended pleadings, supplemental pleadings and many others. It is very important to consult an attorney who is experienced in these areas.

Obtaining the correct information can be crucial to success in any civil lawsuit. This is commonly called discovery and can take many forms. There are both advantages and disadvantages to discovery. Recently, technology has made many advances in this area. There must be a right to ask for discovery and there are limitations on discovery. An experienced lawyer can assist in which discovery is appropriate for your case. The scope of discovery is also a very important issue and it must be relevant to the subject matter and reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence. There are also privilege issues to be considered as well as attorney work product in addition to privacy protection. This is a very complicated and complex area of the law. It is very important to create a discovery plan before starting the actual discovery process and this includes selecting the proper discovery tools and the proper scheduling. Depositions can also be used and some depositions require prior court orders and some do not. There are also issues as to when subpoenas are necessary and proper and when they are not. There are also issues as to the place of the deposition, the deposition officer, the actual taking of the deposition with the court reporter so that the testimony is preserved, protective orders, the conduct of the deposition, motions to compel answers when there is a refusal to answer questions at a deposition, possible sanction issues, use of depositions at trial and also use of depositions at judicial arbitration hearings.

Our attorneys practice in the San Diego Superior Courts in San Diego downtown, El Cajon, Vista, and Chula Vista.

Please feel free to contact us to set up your complimentary consultation.